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ALTON – An ordinance replacing the state’s 1% sales tax on groceries with Alton’s own grocery sales tax has been delayed after City Council members on Wednesday laid the item over.
The City Council previously passed a resolution to create the grocery tax ordinance, which would be adopted into the City Code when and if passed after a first and second reading. Originally set for its first reading on Wednesday, Alderwoman Stephanie Elliott moved to lay the item over until the council’s next meeting on July 9, 2025.
Before coming back to the council in ordinance form, the resolution passed on a vote of 5-2. Ward 1 Alderman Chris Bohn and Ward 3 Alderman Michael Velloff voted against the city’s replacement 1% grocery tax, with all other City Council members voting in support.
Since 1990, the State of Illinois has collected a 1% sales tax on groceries, from which 100% of the proceeds went directly to local municipalities. With that tax set to expire on Jan. 1, 2026, communities across Illinois face either significant revenue losses or the choice to impose their own 1% grocery sales tax.
Alton Comptroller Debbie Dunlap previously estimated that allowing the grocery tax to expire without replacement would result in an annual loss of $400,000 to the city’s General Fund. The Alton City Council has until Oct. 1, 2025 to adopt the replacement grocery tax ordinance into its City Code in order to start collecting the tax by Jan. 1, 2026.
Many other local communities have passed similar grocery tax replacement measures, including Belleville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Jerseyville, and Wood River. However, one Godfrey official is looking into an alternative strategy of raising the village’s sales tax by 0.5% instead of replacing the 1% grocery tax; more details about his proposal are available in this story on Riverbender.com.
A full recording of the June 25, 2025 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
